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NHL Picks

NHL Picks: Stars vs. Bruins

The Boston Bruins host the Dallas Stars at the TD Garden! Where do we believe the best value lies for our NHL picks tonight?

The
Dallas Stars got a big road win on Sunday night with a 4-3 shootout victory in
Ottawa. However, that was just their third road win in eight tries this season
and now the challenge is much greater with a road trip to Boston.

These
two teams made a blockbuster trade in the offseason, so there should be some
added intensity to the mix.

They’ve
won two of their last three away games. See, they aren’t so bad. People who
make their NHL picks noticed that the Stars had won just one of their first
five road games to start the season but they’ve managed to straighten that out.
The difference has been their offense as they’ve scored eight goals in their
last two road games; they had just 12 goals in their first five away games.

The
Stars traded for Tyler Seguin in the offseason and he’s been a key contributor
in the early going for them. He has 15 points already and should be fired up to
stick it to the team that gave up on him even though he’s merely 21-years-old.
Meanwhile, the Bruins will be without the main asset they got from that trade
as Loui Eriksson is still out while recovering from a concussion. Advantage
Dallas.

The
Boston Bruins can win because…

The
Stars are simply an unreliable bet this season. They have just four wins in
their last 11 games, which isn’t exactly inspiring. The Stars don’t score very
much as they average just 2.50 goals per game (20th in the NHL).
That figures to be a problem considering the Bruins are one of the best
defensive teams – especially at home where they give up just 2.00 goals per
game (eighth-best in the NHL). Goaltender Tuukka Rask has a sparkling 1.85 GAA
at home with a .938 save percentage. The Stars are going to have a tough time
breaking through that.

It’s
hard to add the Bruins to your sports picks here because they are just 4-3-0 at
home this season. That includes a recent home loss to New Jersey, so there is a
chance of getting burned. As for the Stars, they are too inconsistent to trust
on the road.

Instead we’ll bank on an under in the NHL odds. With their sluggish offense and the Bruins steady
defense, we should see a low-scoring affair.